Review: Canon shows off EOS 80D digital SLR camera at Vivid, Sydney

WANT to capture the dazzling lights of an event like Sydney’s Vivid Festival? It’s time to ditch the smartphone and pick up a real camera.

A camera for enthusiasts ... Long exposure photos of a woman and a light stick, captured with a Canon EOS 80D inside the camera maker's Vivid Sydney workshop held by Graham Monro.

WHEN photographing the dazzling, dancing lights of Sydney’s Vivid festival, which illuminates buildings around the Harbour City, your average camera will not cut it.

And by average camera, I’m talking about a smartphone.

Even the best phone camera will struggle to pick up the bold hues and stark contrast of a theatrically floodlit Opera House.

And it’s this opportunity that Canon has seized, equipping tour guests with its new EOS 80D camera designed for photography enthusiasts who want more than a blurry, throwaway file to remember the event.

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Canon’s EOS 80D is an upgrade from the three-year-old 70D and shows improvements where it counts. While it looks the same, even down to its buttons and dials, this camera boasts faster and more accurate focus, better video modes, and easy smartphone connectivity that can even help the photographic outcome.

Bold colours ... A laneway lit up with bottles as part of Vivid Sydney, captured with a Canon EOS 80D camera.

Naturally, this camera’s specifications also step up from the 70D where it counts.

Its APS-C sensor takes a small jump from 20 to 24 megapixels, it adds a faster processor, and its top native ISO rating creeps from 12,800 to 16,000 for more options in the dimmest of light.

But the most noticeable change is its autofocus performance. This camera now boasts 45 cross-type autofocus points — a leap from 19 in the last model — and its phase-detect autofocus has been upgraded for speed.

What does this mean when taking photos? Point this camera’s lens down a dramatically lit Sydney laneway, and it will lock its focus in fractions of a second. It’s faster than you’d expect, and users can easily guide its focus using the camera’s 3-inch touchscreen.

Its wi-fi smartphone connection also comes in handy in these situations, delivering a remote trigger from its screen. Photographers simply connect phone and camera (Android phones will use NFC), and press the on-screen shutter button to snap a vibration-free photo. Naturally, it can also transfer images to your phone.

One for keen photographers ... Canon's EOS 80D digital SLR camera features a time-lapse feature and improve autofocus mechanism.

The 80D also shows less noise at high ISO settings, a 100 per cent field of view from its viewfinder, and faster Live View performance.

Consideration has also been paid to those who want to shoot video. Not only will it capture full high-definition video at a 60p resolution, but its stereo microphones have moved to the front of the camera, and Canon has added a headphone jack for audio monitoring.

The 80D will also capture time-lapse videos with a minimum of fuss. It does the mathematics for you, displaying how long you will be shooting and the length of the result, and captures the scene’s exposure once to ensure a smooth look.

This camera is not for video pros, however. It won’t shoot 4K video, its time-lapse videos are HD only, and it has a 30-minute recording limit.

It’s also worth noting that the 18-135mm kit lens, while quick and quiet, does not offer the sharpest focus on the market. This camera also lacks in-body optical image stabilisation, and uses an optical low-pass filter that can limit finer detail in photos.

The Canon 80D makes important gains on its predecessor, with its autofocus speed, wireless capabilities, and time-lapse additions top of the reasons to upgrade. Photographers looking for in-body stabilisation or 4K video capture will need to look elsewhere, but this is an impressive enthusiast camera capable of capturing bright lights.

Canon EOS 80D with lens

Four out of five stars

$2196 / harveynorman.com.au